Presente.org and Sierra Club Call on FWD.Us to Stop Pushing Dirty Energy in the Name of Immigration Reform

Friday, May 3, 2013

Contact:

Maggie Kao, 202-656-4548

Blair FitzGibbon, Presente.org, 202-503-6141

For Immediate Release

(Washington, DC) – Last week, FWD.Us released two television ads praising sitting U.S. Senators Mark Begich (D-AK) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC) for their support of dirty fuel projects like the Keystone XL pipeline and drilling in America’s Arctic. Founded by leading tech executives including Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Joe Green, co-founder of Nationbuilder and Causes.com, FWD.Us ostensibly exists to push forward immigration reform and indicated it aired the ads to help prod these Senators toward a supportive vote on comprehensive reform policies.

In response, Arturo Carmona of Presente.org and Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club - issued the following statement:

“The ongoing national debate to fix our broken immigration system is a welcome development, and it is exciting that voices like Mark Zuckerberg, Joe Green, and FWD.Us are joining the push for critically needed comprehensive reform. However, in their effort to shape the political debate, they have lost sight of the fundamental goal of the fight for reform: to create a better future for all of those who call America home.

"Latino families want a healthy future and a healthy economy just like any other American family. That means ensuring families aren’t ripped apart by a broken immigration system – but it also means ensuring that our kids have clean air, clean water, clean communities and a healthy planet. The dirty fuel schemes pushed in the ads aired by FWD.US like the dangerous Keystone XL pipeline threaten the future of all Americans.

"Zuckerberg and FWD.Us shouldn’t sell out the future of our planet and the health of our families to score political points. That’s why we are asking them to stop patting politicians on the back for supporting dirty fuel schemes, and to start taking action that’s in the best interest of all Americans.”

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Presente.org is a national organization developed to amplify the voice of Latino communities.

The Sierra Club is the Nation’s Largest Grassroots Environmental Organization.